'Airport Bar' Conceptual Art Experience Flouted Trump's Travel Ban with Drinks & Drollity

PETALUMA, Calif. - Feb. 26, 2017 - PRLog -- In light of President Trump's recent attempt to implement a "travel ban," conceptual artists Daedalus Howell and Karen Hell hosted "Airport Bar," a participatory public performance that invited the public to acknowledge what it means to be trapped in the bureaucratic purgatory of international travel in the only place where humanity still feels as one when traveling – the airport bar.

Staged Feb. 24 at La Dolce Vita Wine Lounge in Petaluma, CA, the overcapacity event offered collectible "luggage tags," and a "visa" which was canceled at the event by Howell upon guests' arrival. Participants brought their own baggage, which contained over 100 pounds of canned goods, which were donated to Petaluma's Committee on the Shelterless (COTS) located at the Mary Isaak Center. Pre-printed letters to Rep. Jared Huffman (US congressman serving California's 2nd district) decrying the travel ban were also signed by event-goers.

"Protest takes many forms and creating a context to engage with an international issue in a symbolic social environment is our way of addressing this issue," says Hell.

"This was a productive way small town artists like ourselves could lend a local voice to the chorus of outrage," says Howell. "And enjoy a glass of local wine with your comrades in the meantime. It was quite a hit and we heartily encourage other creative people to stage their own Airport Bar events."

To that end, the duo offer a free, readymade kit for others to create their own "Airport Bar" at their art company website http://storydept.co/airportbar.

Prior to "Airport Bar," Howell and Hell's Story Dept. conceptual collaborations include "Stairwell Video," a recreation of a VHS-only video store recreation and "Le Drama Clüb," an homage to an 80s-era teen band that never existed but could have.